There’s Some Changes Going On!!

To all you wonderful followers, fellow bloggers, visitors and the like, if you haven’t already noticed there are some awesome changes taking place,  More Than Words will be merging with Simply Life as one blog!! It’s important that we still provide inspiring, thought-provoking, fun, insightful and Christ centered content so everything will continue just the way it has been, except now it will be located under one roof ;=) If you are already following More Than Words and have yet to begin following Simply Life use the link at the top to go on over and begin following now so that we can stay  connected and up to date on the latest post! Thank you all for your continued support and I hope to see you on the other side;=)

Note: This will be the last post on More Than Words.  After Friday, March 7, 2014 it will no longer be linked to Simply Life.  So make your move today ;=)

Be Blessed!

Forgetful Love

I can remember being in my classroom teaching kindergarten and one of my students were misbehaving. I continued to correct them and give them a warning  of what my next discipline action would be. They continued  to misbehave. This particular student loved to help me during story time so i decided that I would get another student to help me. My misbehaving student was so upset and hurt. They kept say, “I promise I be good.” For the remainder of the day my student was so hurt and upset that he just sat with his head down until it was time to go home.

I couldn’t help but think about my little student when I went home. I thought about how  awesome my student normally behaves. I thought about how my student typically is my best student. I thought about tomorrow and how I hoped I didn’t have to give his mom another bad report or have to use someone else during story time. I didn’t want to have to take away the things he enjoyed or watch him have a bad mood for so long. When he worked in class he was so creative and funny and he sought my approval of everything he did hoping I would like it as much as he did.

The next day while I was waiting for to receive my students he came running through the doors as usual and ran straight to me and hugged me. He continued the day as he use to. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was going to have a bad day or not. I also couldn’t believe that it was almost as if he couldn’t remember yesterday. He was no longer mad or upset. He continued to be the loveable, creative, fun kid he had always been. I couldn’t help but forget how horrible his bad day was and love him for that new day!

I remember someone saying that in order for them to love me they had to have a forgetful memory. I remember wondering what that meant when  they initially said it until they continued to explain. “If I look at you through your mistakes it will make it hard for me to love you. I have to forget…..to continue to love you.” 1Cor.. 13:5 “‘love keeps no record of wrong.” Some of us keep wrap sheets of others wrongs and we remember the mistakes and it hinders us from moving forward. I am guilty of this at times because i seek to protect my feelings or have a handle on the future. But love is forgetful and it keeps no record of your wrongs and mistakes. Meaning, things you no longer do your imperfect ways of being. Hebrews 8:12 “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” God is so merciful that when we repent and are genuinely remorseful in our mistakes and we want to change and do better….He doesnt hold our mistakes against us.  Now dont misunderstand, there are some things and situations that vary as it pertains to your well-being. But for the most part we can try not to keep a record of wrong that prevents us from loving with the love of God.

Focus: keeping no record of others wrongs-it causes us to withhold the love of God.

Prayer: Lord thank you for another day that you have allowed us to make it to. Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for reminding us in your word that as far as the east is from the west…thats where are sins are when we confess, repent and turn away from them. Thank you for not holding our past or the flaws that we have against us. Than you for not withholding your love. God help us to love with your love. Help us to forgive one another with your heart. help us to forget the wrongs that others have done to us so that when we pray for them, see them or think of them our hearts are pure. In Jesus Name Amen.

God Loves You…No Matter What

Isn’t it amazing that there is a true and living God who loves us.  I’ll tell you something even better than that, there is absolutely nothing we can do about it!  Such grace, mercy, and wondrous love has  he bestowed upon us.  I can’t help but marvel at the thought of it.

Say It!-I love You

Often time we assume that the people who are close to us should automatically know how we feel about them. Often men are categorized as not being good at expressing themselves as if connects to their feelings. Some of most amazing people and me I know don’t have a problem with that at all. Saying I love you when it’s least expected can calm so many things in a persons life. Saying I love you when the person is acting in such a way, that it seems something else should be said-this too can make a difference.

The power of love is evident when we look at how it changed our lives, once we were introduced to the love of God. Even thoes who are good at showing their love still should aim to use the words. Today people are so wrapped in thinking that they need to be in a relationship to feel loved. I decided to make love cards and scrolls for the people I knew who wasn’t in a relationship. I wanted to remind them that they’re loved and someone is thinking about them today. That type of consideration for another person comes from God. And because He loves them so much he placed them on someone else’s heart- to say I love you.

 

Prayer: God I thank you for another day that you have allowed us to see, we know that some didn’t make it but you allowed us to. We thank you. Lord thank you for your love and forgiveness. Thank you for loving us even in our unlovable times. Thank you for showing us through the sacrifice of your only son. God I come to you right now in the name of Jesus, asking that you mend the broken hearted today. God I ask that the lonely is visited, the hurting is compforted, the mistreated is appreciated, the depressed is lifted. Touch us and help us to touch someone else through your love. God we thank you that when relationships fade,friends and family let us down, kids dissapoint, choloates are gone and others expressions of love deminishes- your love is there. Whenever we need to hear we are loved we can hear you say, Beloved( just be loved of God)!

Flawless Love

Are you ready for another book list?  I do hope so because I found some books about God’s love that have received great reviews.  Just by reading through some of the product descriptions the content looks to be soul inspiring ;=) To stick with the theme for this month I am of course focusing on love, God’s love.  Yes, that unconditional, sacrificial, unexplainable because “He Is Love” kind of love.  So take a good look at the book summaries and perhaps you’ll find that perfect read.  I know I can’t wait to get started!

The God of the universe is crazy about you! His love is the most powerful thing in the world and He wants to give it to you, so you can live for Him. If you have made a commitment to follow Christ, then read Crazy Love to be reminded and challenged in your walk. Sharing from his own life struggles and sacrifices, author Francis Chan issues a call for selfless, Christ-like living. Let the love you have received from God impact your life like never before.

How do you explain a love that has no explanation? What will happen if you let it touch your heart? God loves you neither because you’re flawless nor because you’re perfect, but just because you are. In Love Beyond Reason, John Ortberg reveals the God you’ve longed to encounter: a Father head over heels in love with you, his child, and intensely committed to your highest joy. After exploring how this love has been revealed through Jesus, you’ll learn how you can love your family, friends, and the world around you with the same transforming love. Dispelling your fears and misconceptions of God, Love Beyond Reason brings you face to face with the love of God that frees and empowers you to love.

Debbie Alsdorf discovered the reality of Christ’s love through a season of pain and brokenness. In Deeper, she reaches out to every woman tired of cliche Christianity and the burden of living a life of performance and people-pleasing. Through Psalm 139, you’ll discover how to bring life to your heart by radically embracing four core truths about God’s love for you: he knows you, he protects you, he made you, and he values you. Discover how meditating on these basic truths can help you move beyond “life-as-usual” into a vibrant, deeper walk with the one who loves you most. Paperback.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that God loves us unconditionally. The world, and many times our own hearts tell us we need to do or be certain things to be worthy of love. Therefore, the reality of God’s unadulterated love can take a long time, perhaps a lifetime, to truly sink in.
In his new book God Loves You, David Jeremiah seeks to remove any doubt from believer’s minds of God’s vast and encompassing love for them. By drawing first and foremost from the Bible, he explores the radical truths that God loved you before you were born, He loves you even when you don’t love Him, He loves you when He corrects you, and He will never let you go. Understanding the depth of God’s love will draw you into deeper relationship with Him and transform your heart and life forever.

When the glass house Sheila lived in for many years came crashing to the ground, she began a new life outside the safety of those walls. No…it did not feel good or safe, but it did feel true. In twelve stirring, insightful, and revealing chapters, Sheila Walsh shows how personal brokenness can open doors of intimacy with Jesus Christ that might not ever open in any other way.

Rekindled Romance-Romantic Gestures

3 Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle. 4 Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath Rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanonlooking toward Damascus. 5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel. Your hair is like royal tapestry; the king is held captive by its tresses. 6 How beautiful you are and how pleasing, O love, with your delights! 7 Your stature is like that of the palm, and your breasts like clusters of fruit. 8 I said, “I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its fruit.” May your breasts be like the clusters of the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples.9 and your mouth like the best wine. May the wine go straight to my lover, flowing gently over lips and teeth. 10 I belong to my lover, and his desire is for me. 11 Come, my lover, let us go to the countryside, let us spend the night in the villages. 12 Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vines have budded, if their blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates are in bloom— there I will give you my love. 13 The mandrakes send out their fragrance, and at our door is every delicacy, both new and old, that I have stored up for you, my lover. (Song of Solomon 7:9-13)

Can you believe that this is scripture? Sounds like a sexy novel.  Keeping in mind that our marriages shouldn’t be sexless, our passion and romance for our spouses shouldn’t be non existent. After being married for a few years it is easy to forget about the romantic gestures that came so natural in the time prior. It is easy to take the one you married and love for granted. When you add jobs, kids and life in the mix sometimes couples put their love lives on hold. Although it’s easy to let the flame go out in our marriages we have to be intentional about rekindling the romance. Of course we shouldn’t only express our love during the month of February alone. But if you have noticed that the fire behind your romance has fizzled in your marriage, here are a few things that Could help us rekindle the romance in our marriages.

1. Write a poem.*
2. Cook a romantic dinner.
3. Give a full-body massage.
4. Pack a sunset picnic.
5. Pick wildflowers on the way home.
6. Give dark chocolates.
7. Read(Song of Solomon together) lol*
8. Prepare strawberries with fondue chocolate.
9. Leave little love notes everywhere.*
10. Send a love email every day.
11. Take a moonlit walk.(when it warms up lol)*
12. Snuggle together while watching romantic movies.
13. Watch something your spouse enjoys while snuggling
14. Take a bath together (use bubbles!).*
15. Bring home good coffee or a decadent sweet.
16. Take a walk down memory lane — visit some of the special places from your early days of dating.*
17. Make warm chocolate cake for dessert. To do body painting
18. Make a scrapbook with photos, mementos, and little notes from your lives together.*
19. Kiss in the rain.(or snow lol)
20. Ride a ferris wheel.
21. Sneak away from a party and make out.
22. Bring home great take-out, and light some candles.
23. Fix something or fix up the house just to make your partner happy.*
24. Take a nap together.
25. Kiss slowly, touching his or her back and neck and nape — just to tease
26. Make a list of everything you love about him or her.*
27. Write a love letter. And publish it in your local paper.*
28. Go to a movie, ignore the movie, and make out like teen-agers.
29. Groom yourself, and try to look good for your partner.
30. Take some quiet time and talk about your day.
31. Write little notes, one for each way he or she drives you crazy.
32. Feed each other grapes.
33. Recreate your partner’s favorite romantic movie scene.
34. Pretend you’re going on a first date — show up at the door with flowers, all dressed up, with your car washed and cleaned, looking spiffy. Recreate the first time.
35. Create a little box with a bunch of your partner’s favorite things inside.
36. Try some sexy role-playing. Get dressed up, be daring, have fun.*
37. Give a little token to your partner to wear, and say it’s to remind him or her all day that you love them.
38. Sing a favorite song to him or her. Only do this if you can sing fairly well.
39. Have dinner on the roof, with some candles. This doesn’t work if your roof slopes sharply.( or if the climate isn’t perfect)*
40. Hold hands, and walk somewhere with lots of pretty lights.
41. Say I love you. In a different way, every day.
42. Blindfold your partner. Use a feather. Slowly.
43. Declare your love, very publicly.*
44. Take sexy photos that only your spouse will see. (be careful) lol

10 Awesomely Inexspensive Ways To Show Love

 

1.  DIY Love Coupons

I’m sure you know just about all your sweetheart’s favorite things. How about making up coupons with no expiration date of course, offering freebies! Anything from a free week of cleaning, free 30 min massage, or free weekend getaway.  Check out the love coupons at your local Barnes and Noble for less than $ 15.  Better than that make them yourselves for free! All it takes is a little creativity for a nice presentation. Now who wouldn’t love that, a gift that keeps on giving. Making it personal shows you really considered them and things they enjoy.

2. Quality Love Time

A movie night with just the two of you sounds doable right?  Gather the movies (all about mushy love stories of course ;=) Set up the snacks, this time make it special with specialty drinks, chocolate covered strawberries, and pretzels plus an entrée from their favorite eatery. Grab a throw to cuddle warm and close and there you have it a nice setting with no distractions, just you and that special someone spending quality love time.

3. Simply Say The Words

Sometimes simply saying the words  “I Love You” to that special person is taken to heart, and for some means so much more than any thing you could do and any gift you could give.

4.  A Night of Dancing

It doesn’t matter if you can’t dance, both of you get dressed, set a playlist of mixed songs in advance.  Invite your mate to a night of fun and dancing right at home.  If you really want to make it a night to remember choreograph a dance just for their eyes only. Make this a gift to be remembered.

5.  Special Friendship

Frame a picture of you and your friend give it to them with a hand written letter telling them what you love about the special friendship you both share.

6. C.D.

Make a C.D. of songs you know your loved one would enjoy and will minister to their spirit. Add a beautiful handmade or purchase card to go with it.

7. Plant Seeds of Love

If your available and want to sow some seeds of love, offer to cook or watch the children for a married couple to allow more quality time to spend with their sweetheart.

8. Host A Friends To Love Dinner

Make a simple but delicious dinner and invite friends over to share. You can decorate with paper heart streamers, and a few balloons.  Go around and share aloud with each friend why you love having them as your friend

9.  Love You

Spend some special time loving on yourself.  Enjoy an evening at home giving yourself a facial, a pedicure, or even wash your hair. Watch that movie are read that book you hadn’t had time to read. Write affirmations of love and read them aloud to yourself. Enjoy loving on you because you deserve it.

 10.  Spread The LOVE

How about simply telling someone about the Love of God, that will be the greatest gift for one to receive, and it’s absolutely FREE!!

 

 

There are so many ways to share love.  Do you have any tips or suggestions? Add your ideas to the list.

 

 

Let’s Share Some Love!!

It’s  that time of the year and love is in the air. The “love bugs” or out and on the hunt to share some L-O-V-E.   I’ve rounded up a few simple and inexpensive ways for you to spread a little love to just about anyone rather it be your spouse, best friend, child, or grandparent these gifts of love will do the job. So check out my wonderful finds.  I’m sure you’ll want to use a couple if not all of these awesome ideas as part of your love spread;=)

1. Love In A Jar – This first idea can be made and given to anyone. To make this “Love Gift” simply purchase or locate an empty jar or box ( a clear jar works nicely as it shows the beautiful contents).  Fill the jar with candy or your receiver’s favorite treats (valentine candy, homemade cookies etc.) Handwrite or type several small notes for the recipient to add to the jar. Examples of notes are: “I’m so glad God blessed us to be friends.”  “You are still the apple of my eye.”  “This note is good for a wonderful back rub.” Whatever it is that you want to express or do for this person write it and then role each note and tie it with a ribbon.  Try using strips of paper, sticky notes or cut out hearts in shades of red, pink and also white.  Do the same for the ribbon just to add to the theme.
2. Hide and Show Some Respect – For this fun and “Love Seek” you will need only index cards and loads of respect.  Fill in the number of cards that it will take to reach Valentine’s Day,  if you start this idea on tomorrow then you will need eleven index cards.  Write on each index card something you respect about your husband or love about your wife.  Hide one per day in a place your spouse is sure to find it.  They will be so excited they’ll be looking forward to the next one each day.  On day 14 the last index card should have a special surprise for your spouse that you can add to your other valentine plans.
3. The Little Sweeties – If you have a couple of little sweethearts in your life a simple idea would be to make “Treatie For My Sweetie” Make rice krispy treats and cut-out hearts using a cookie cutter or if your creative shape them into hearts yourself before they set. ( You can even find instructions to make rice krispy treats on the back of the rice krispy cereal box). Place the rice krispy shaped hearts into cellophane wraps or small decorative bags and tie with string. Add a  handmade card stamped with love and a page of cute stickers for an even bigger treat!

1. Frame It – This is a beautiful gift to show your love and have it treasured forever.  All you need is artificial flower petals or  you can opt to use  varied size hearts cut from colored construction paper of your choice. Depending on the frame size locate pre-designed paper as your background or you can hand write the background on blank paper as a love letter if you want.  Next make an outline of the heart on top of the paper in the center whatever size you want making sure to leave adequate space for your background to show.  fill the heart with the petals or cut-outs (using glue) whichever you are using making sure to keep with the heart pattern.  Leave your signature in the lower right corner and the date, place it in a frame and you’ll have a lovely keepsake to share with the one you love.

These are some creative ideas just to get you going on this wonderful month of love and hopefully anytime throughout the year.

How will you be spreading love on Valentine’s Day 2014? Come on, share some sweet ideas;=)

Loving Me For Me

A New Year!!!

A new year to reflect on the last

To release the past- remembering to learn the lessons it offered- without my asking

A chance to face the newness of last years tears- consoled by this years anticipated

new beginnings

A new year to wrap away the last-with old Christmas gift wrappings and present to my old self

Because the new year has better gifts for me

Gifts that makes last year a faded memory- with only flashbacks of lost loves

And choked tears

Great moments that refused to hold on to me- and agonizing ones that wouldn’t release me

A new year to experience the Love of God that exceeds its capacity beyond my greatest need

At the same time this love – I await it’s continued transforming ability

And the things my God has promised me

A new year I humbly enter in- knowing that others were unable to make the count down with me

The last year swallowed their laughter- attempting to dissipate the very image of their smiles

But I’m thankful that the new year gives out sampled dreams and snapshot photographs -familiar places won’t disappear with last years snatch

A new year to have intentional purpose for God and fulfillment-that will fill the voids of last years self-centeredness

Giving everything in this new year more meaning

A new year- bringing newness by demand

Therefore a new me- a new creation- new lover and friend

I gladly take this New Year by the hand praying- fear, criticism,doubt and everything YOU struggle with fell off of YOU as soon as the count down began

To make this a

Happy New Year!!!!!